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Hellenismos and the Natural World
Hellenismos provides a natural view of the universe. It recognizes that the Kosmos (Cosmos; Gr. Κόσμος) is governed by natural laws. Consequently, Hellenismos does not bear an inherent conflict with science, unlike, generally, religions with creeds. Science is the friend of natural philosophy and philosophy is one of the pillars of Hellenismos. Yet it is not wise to view science as creedal; science is somewhere on a continuum from ignorance to absolute knowledge.
The universe expresses divinity. As an example of how the divinity of the phenomenal world is viewed in Hellenismos, consider this passage from Platohn's Politeia (Republic; Gr. Πολιτεία) [1] where Sohkratis (Socrates; Gr. Σωκράτης), speaking to Glafkohn (Glaucon; Gr. Γλαύκων) the brother of Platohn (Plato; Gr. Πλάτων), discusses the natural world:
"Sohkratis: Sight being, as I conceive, in the eyes, and he who has eyes wanting to see; colour being also present in them, still unless there be a third nature specially adapted to the purpose, the owner of the eyes will see nothing and the colours will be invisible.
Glafkohn: Of what nature are you speaking?
Sohkratis: Of that which you term light.
Glafkohn: True.
Sohkratis: Noble, then, is the bond which links together sight and visibility, and great beyond other bonds by no small difference of nature; for light is their bond, and light is no ignoble thing?
Glafkohn: Nay, the reverse of ignoble.
Sohkratis: And which of the Gods in heaven would you say was the lord of this element? Whose is that light which makes the eye to see perfectly and the visible to appear?
Glafkohn: You mean the Sun (ed. Ilios or Helios; Gr. Ἥλιος), as you and all mankind say."
Here we see the Sun called a God. The Sun is (viewed as) a deity and one expression of the natural world. Gods and Goddesses such as Zefs (Zeus; Gr. Ζεύς), Ira (Hera; Gr. Ἥρα), Apollohn (Apollo; Gr. Ἀπόλλων) and many others, are personal deities with consciousness, yet they are natural beings of the Kosmos.
The Natural Laws
The Natural Laws are those which govern kosmogonic Pröothos (Pröodos; Gr. Πρόοδος), the progress or evolution of the Kosmos. They also govern the evolution of souls and divinity. The Natural Laws are not Nature itself; they function within Nature. They are the laws which govern progress or evolution, in particular, the evolution of the soul. The laws are named and described in an effort to help us understand and work with natural evolutionary processes in the Kosmos. Yet, the laws are not merely a teaching tool; they are powerful forces and events that can be observed in the phenomenal world. It is conceivable that a perceptive individual could discover these laws, at least up through the ninth law, without any instruction whatsoever, as they are self-evident.
The Natural Laws are an expression of the interaction of the two kosmogonic substances, and how this interaction causes an evolution. We call this Mystic Materialism. The cosmos consists of two primary substances, what is called kosmological dualism. These substances have various names, but we here will refer to them as Earth and Water, what are called the two kosmogonic principles.
What is before the genesis of the Kosmos? Orphefs (Orpheus) says that this state is not able to be expressed; it is unutterable. Therefore, it is called the Unutterable Principle or, in Greek, the Arritos Arkhi (Ἄρρητος Ἀρχή). It can also be called the Primordial Mixture. It is out of the Primordial Mixture that Earth (female, receptive, divided) and Water (male, active, continuous) arise. From this stagnant but pregnant situation, Earth (Gaia, Gr. Γαῖα, ΓΑΙΑ), what Pythagoras calls daring (tolma, Gr. τόλμᾰ), Moves out of Necessity (Anangki, Gr. Ἀνάγκη), then Life pulses attracting Energy, which assumes Form, and so forth through Attraction, Progress, Co-Influence, Harmony, and Freedom (see below). The last three of the twelve natural laws occur in the realm of divinity and will not be discussed in this essay.
From this perspective, we can see the laws as an expression of the formation of the Kosmos. Yet there are many circles of the laws, spiraling out infinitely. Another circle of the laws governs the creation of the soul. At the ninth level, the soul has been harmonized from the struggles of life and it is given Freedom. Such a soul is a complete soul, for it is free, even if this soul is but a tiny amoeba. The laws continue and spiral out again and again through the progression of rebirths, i.e., reincarnation (palingænæsía; Gr. παλιγγενεσία). The soul evolves (Pröothos or Pröodos; Gr. Πρόοδος [not the Pröothos of the Neoplatonists]) through more and more spirals of the laws until it achieves the human birth. And from the first human birth there are many more human births. With tremendous effort, the human soul is capable of attaining great virtue (aræti; Gr. ἀρετή) and through the spirals of laws, and the influence of the Gods, eventually may achieve Deification (Ækthæosis; Gr. Ἐκθέωσις), whereby the deified soul then may enter the realm of the final three laws.
The Olympians and the Natural Laws
The Natural Laws are great forces; they are actually Gods, but they are impersonal deities. Mortal beings find it difficult to work with impersonal forces but are much more able to communicate with beings who have consciousness. Therefore, it is expedient for the personal deities to assume command over the laws for which each God or Goddess has particular expression and concern. In the vast pantheon of deities, there are twelve which rank above all others: the Olympians. It is the Olympian Gods who have dominion over the laws. The Olympian deities are personal deities who have consciousness and they can communicate to the mortals the understanding of the laws. They also assist the function of each law with magnificent ability.
Each Olympian God and Goddess has governance over a particular natural law and are, therefore, called the Æphoros (Ephoros; Gr. Ἔφορος), the Magistrate, of that particular law. The Olympian Gods, the Æphori (Ephoroi-plural; Gr. Ἔφοροι) of the Natural Laws, have dominion over every aspect of life, mortal, divine, vegetative, and beyond the earth; they are the guardians of Nature. They exercise ministry over the Natural Laws, for the harmonic concordance of these laws of nature, and they provide a means by which mortal beings can communicate with these laws. Each one of these laws represents the way in which the particular Olympian God or Goddess works on the soul to help it to progress, through all the various forms of life, and for those mortals who achieve monumental aræti (arete; Gr. ἀρετή), virtue, they guide the soul to Deification.
THE TWELVE NATURAL LAWS with the associated OLYMPIAN ÆPHORI
THE TWO LAWS OF EARTH, the Mæristi (Gr. Μεριστή = divisible or particulate) Substance (= Gr. Οὐσίἁ):
1. KINISI (Gr. Κίνηση) - The Natural Law of Movement - ÆSTIA (Hestia)
2. ZOÏ (Gr. Ζωή) - The Natural Law of Life - ARIS (Ares)
THE TEN LAWS OF AITHIR, the Synækhis (Gr. Συνεχής = continuous) Substance (Gr. Οὐσίἁ):
3. ÆNÆRYEIA (Gr. Ἑνέργεια) - The Natural Law of Energy - ARTÆMIS (Artemis)
4. MORPHI (Gr. Μορφή) - The Natural Law of Form - IPHAISTOS (Hephaestus)
5. ÆROHS (Gr. Έρως) [2] - The Natural Law of Attraction - IRA (Hera)
6. PRÖOTHOS (Gr. Πρόοδος) - The Natural Law of Progress or Evolution - POSEITHOHN - (Poseidon)
7. ALLILÆPITHRASI (Gr. Ἁλληλεπίδραση) - The Natural Law of Co-Influence - ATHINA (Athena)
8. ARMONIA - (Gr. Ἁρμονία) - The Natural Law of Harmony - APHROTHITI (Aphrodite)
9. ÆLEFTHÆRIA (Gr. Ἑλευθερία) - The Natural Law of Freedom - APOLLOHN (Apollo) The Ninth Law is the area of the Heroes, the Demi-Gods.
For those souls who have achieved deification, the cycle begins again in the Divine World. The first nine laws are present throughout nature, including the divine world:
10. I ÆN TOH THEIOH KOSMOH KINISIS (Gr. Ἥ ἐν τῷ θείῳ κόσμῳ κίνησις)
The Natural Law of Movement in the Divine World -
ÆRMIS (Hermes)
11. I ÆN TOH THEIOH KOSMOH ZOÏ (Gr. Ἥ ἐν τῷ θείῳ κόσμῳ ζωή)
The Natural Law of Life in the Divine World -
ZEFS (Zeus)
The Natural Law of Energy in the Divine World - DIMITIR (Demeter)
NOTES:
[1] Platohn's Politeia (Republic; Gr. Πολιτεία), Book VI, 508; translated by Benjamin Jowett, 1892; found in the 1937 Random House edition of The Dialogues of Plato, Vol. One, p. 769.
[2] Ærohs (Eros; Gr. Ἔρως) is usually associated with the Goddess Aphrothiti (Aphrodite; Gr. Ἀφροδίτη) who has dominion over another aspect of Ærohs, attraction.
"For what purpose would God perform a miracle? To accomplish some particular design upon living beings! He would then in reality be supposed to say: 'I have not been able to effect by my construction of the universe, by my divine decrees, by my eternal laws, a particular object; I am now going to change my eternal ideas and immutable laws, to endeavor to accomplish what I have not been able to do by means of them.' This would be an avowal of his weakness, not of his power; it would appear in such a being an inconceivable contradiction. Accordingly, therefore, to dare to ascribe miracles to God is, if man can in reality insult God, actually offering him that insult." Voltaire
PLEASE NOTE: Throughout the pages of this website, you will find fascinating stories about our Gods. These narratives are known as mythology, the traditional stories of the Gods and Heroes. While these tales are great mystical vehicles containing transcendent truth, they are symbolic and should not be taken literally. A literal reading will frequently yield an erroneous result. The meaning of the myths is concealed in code. To understand them requires a key. For instance, when a God kills someone, this usually means a transformation of the soul to a higher level. Similarly, sexual union with a God is a transformation.
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